1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to a draft gear, and more particularly, to the housing for the draft gear which carries an energy absorption spring package. The draft gear housing is comprised of a layer or layers of a filament wound composite material and, in a preferred embodiment, steel.
2. Prior Art
Draft Gears from there invention in the late 1800s, have included some kind of frame or housing. These frames or housings have, for the most part, been constructed of steel or malleable iron via a semi-sophisticated manufacturing process. Because of various problems, the number of qualified suppliers of castings in the U.S.A has been dwindling and customers have been forced to seek sources of supply overseas and/or pay higher prices in the domestic market. Irrespective of where the steel or malleable iron castings are sourced, because of their material composition, they tend to be heavy and difficult to manufacture. That is, even when manufactured correctly, they add weight to the finished rail car and the shipping costs of the castings themselves tend to be high.
The present invention overcomes the disabilities of the prior art by providing a draft gear housing which includes a relatively small amount of cast steel or wrought steel or malleable iron, is lightweight and does not require sophisticated manufacturing techniques. In accordance with the present invention there is included a housing having a closed end, and an open end which is axially spaced from the closed end of the housing. Along the length thereof, the draft gear housing includes a series of tubular layers, at least one of which is a filament wound composite material, and another, in certain embodiments, which is steel. The steel layer can be cylindrical in shape or slightly barrel-shaped and can extend either substantially the entire length of the housing or just a portion of the axial length thereof.
Thus, an object of this invention is to provide a draft gear having a housing which includes a filament wound composite material and a minimal amount of steel.
Still a further object of this invention is to provide a draft gear housing which is constructed of a filament wound composite material arranged around a barrel shaped steel cylinder.
An additional object of this invention is to provide a draft gear housing whose bore needs not be only round or rectangular in shape but can be tailored to the particular application.
Another object of this invention is to provide a lightweight draft gear housing which is constructed of fiberglass filament and epoxy resin wrapped around a plastic frame.
Yet another object is to provide a draft gear housing that employs metal, which is cheap, easy to manufacture and which is readily commercially available.